Dairy sector keeping close eye on global price moves

Dairy farmers are keeping an eye on co-op milk prices as mixed signals are emerging from global markets.

While New Zealand dairy giant Fonterra says dairy prices will only pick up slightly in the next 12 months, signals from France Agrimer and Germany’s ZMB suggest there is no sign yet of the “wall of milk” predicted for the post-quota era.

These companies’s milk supplies for the January to mid-May period were significantly below last year’s level, by 2.45% for France and 2% for Germany. Those two countries alone account for over 40% of all milk produced in Europe.